Abstract

﻿The fishery for the chank in the southest coast of India has been the
regular calling of the fishermen of the region from time immemorial. A look at
the statistics of chank landings for the recent years from the important areas of
fishing will show (Tables XV to XX) the large quantities of chank fished
annually. But for a negligible percentage of these, the entire stock goes to
Bengal where there is an organised small-scale industry for chank bangles.
About 12,000-13,000 artisans in West Bengal are engaged in this profession.
The present level of supply is found to be far below their requirements since
the chanks which otherwise they can get from the Ceylon coast are not available
now as in the pre-independance days. This is because of the fact that in those
days the Ceylonfishery was conducted with the help of divers drawn from India.
Now these divers are not allowed to go there as a result of which thefishery in
Ceylon has suffered a great set-back. This has considerably helped the chank
fishing in India to prosper.
It is felt that if a proper survey of the chank resources of our waters
is undertaken and if the tempo of the expolitation is increased, there is every
possibility of the chank industry expanding further. This will give greater
profits to thefishermen and the people who are engaged in the chank bangle
industry and greater revenue to the Governments of the states where chank
fisheries exist. The following account is presented with the object of drawing
the attention of scientists to the existing chank fisheries of India and to indicate
the possiblities for expansion of the fisheries based on (a) the results of a
preliminary survey conducted to find out the extent of chank beds notably in the
Gulf of Mannar and (b) on the effectiveness of modem methods of exploitation.